TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (November 17, 2023) – The University of North Alabama football team will take the field one last time this season on Saturday — and will do it on perhaps the biggest stage the program has ever seen.
For the first time in school history, UNA will face a team ranked among the top five teams in FBS football as the Lions travel to Tallahassee, Fla. for a game against No. 4 Florida State on Saturday, Nov. 18 at 5:30 p.m.
Tickets for Saturday's game are sold out.
The game will be nationally-televised on The CW (WHDF) and is available on various streaming platforms or on Channel 15.1 in the Birmingham and Huntsville-Decatur-Florence markets. Fans can also tune in to the action on WXL Radio — 98.3 and 103.5 FM with "Voice of the Lions" Benjamin Ray, Bryan Neece and Jacob Tucker on the call.
For a list of "Things to Know" for Saturday's game,
click here.
GAMEDAY INFORMATION
Game: North Alabama vs. No. 4 Florida State
Date: Saturday, November 18
Time: 6:30 p.m. ET / 5:30 p.m. CT
Location: Tallahassee, Florida
Stadium: Doak S. Campbell
Capacity: 79,560
TV: The CW
Radio: WLX 98.3 / 103.5 FM
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Tickets: SOLD OUT
Social Media:
@UNAFootball
UNA Game Notes |
Opponent Game Notes |
UAC Website
ABOUT THE LIONS
- North Alabama enters with a 3-7 record, owning wins over Chattanooga, Tennessee Tech and Utah Tech. Chattanooga is currently ranked No. 16 in the FCS Coaches Poll.
- The Lions are in their 75th season of football in 2023 with an all-time record of 483-305-16. The 2023 season marks UNA's sixth at the FCS level and just the second as a full-fledged member of NCAA Division I.
- The Lions seek their first all-time win over a ranked Division I opponent on Saturday, falling in 14 games to ranked FCS teams and one additional FBS No. 8 BYU in 2020.
- When factoring in Division II ranked teams, UNA has played 118 ranked opponents since 1992 and owns a 61-56-1 record in those games.
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Last time out, UNA dropped a 27-14 decision to nationally-ranked Central Arkansas, who will play for the United Athletic Conference championship on Saturday against Austin Peay.
- Redshirt senior wide receiver Takairee Kenebrew has 39 catches for 656 yards and nine touchdowns this season. Kenebrew is currently tied for the career touchdown receptions school record with 25 alongside Dre Hall. Kenebrew needs one more to hold the record outright and also needs one more to tie the single-season record of 10 TD catches held by both Hall and Ed Gant.
- Sophomore quarterback Noah Walters enters Saturday ranked 25th in FCS with 2,282 passing yards and ranks 18th in FCS with just over 21 completions per game. He has completed 211 of 356 passes for 19 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. He is also the team's second-leading rusher with 370 yards and a pair of scores.
- Fellow sophomore Demarcus Lacey leads the run game with 117 carries for 583 yards and a trio of touchdowns. Lacey moved from wide receiver to running back during the offseason.
- North Alabama remains second of 128 FCS teams in strength of schedule based on total win percentage, according to NCAA.org. Six of UNA's 11 opponents this season are currently ranked, while three others have received votes at least once this season.
- UNA has scored on each of its last 12 redzone trips dating back to Homecoming against EKU. Prior to this, the Lions were 11 for 20 on red zone scoring chances.
- Redshirt sophomore Edwin White Schultz continues to lead the defense from the safety position with 82 tackles, ranking fourth in the UAC with 8.2 tackles per game.
- Senior Philip Ossai is also a large part of the Purple Swarm defense, leading the Lions with 9.5 tackles for loss, four sacks, four QB hurries, two fumble recoveries and two pass break-ups.
- The Lions are charter members of the newly-formed United Athletic Conference, along with Abilene Christian, Austin Peay, Central Arkansas, EKU, Southern Utah, Stephen F. Austin, Tarleton State, Utah Tech and UTRGV, who will be joining in 2025. Former Gulf South Conference rival West Georgia announced its move to NCAA Division I and will join the league in 2024.
- The UAC recently announced its 2024 league schedule. Click here for more info.
- The Lions are led by first year head coach Brent Dearmon, an Alabama native and offensive guru who made stops at Kansas, Middle Tennessee State and Florida Atlantic. Prior to those places, Dearmon was the head coach at Bethel (TN), where he led the team to a 10-1 record and a top-five NAIA national ranking in 2018.
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North Alabama remains the second-winningest program in the state of Alabama since 1990 with 256 wins in the last 33 years, ranking second only to the University of Alabama with 305 wins. The Lions boast 21 NCAA playoff appearances, 17 conference championships and three national championship victories.
ABOUT THE SEMINOLES
- Florida State enters with a perfect 10-0 overall record and an 8-0 record in the ACC.
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Last week, Florida State held off in-state rival Miami with a 27-20 win at Doak Campbell Stadium. This completed the school's 10th perfect ACC regular season and marked the eighth 10-0 start in program history.
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Florida State is No. 4 in this week's Associated Press poll. It is the 11th consecutive week FSU has been ranked in the top five, the program's longest streak since 2013-14 when Florida State was in the top five for 27 consecutive polls.
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The win over Miami extended the Seminoles' winning streak to 16 games, the longest active streak in the ACC and 3rd-longest active streak in the country. During its streak, which is also tied for the third-longest in program history and fifth-longest ever by an ACC program, Florida State has outscored its opponents 636-282.
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FSU has held every opponent this season to fewer than 30 points. The 10-game streak is the longest active in the ACC and the 4th-longest active streak in the country. The last time Florida State held at least 10 straight opponents to fewer than 30 points was a 12-game streak in 2015.
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Florida State has six players in contention for prestigious national awards, including quarterback Jordan Travis (Maxwell, O'Brien), wide receiver and return specialist Keon Coleman (Biletnikoff), defensive end Jared Verse (Lombardi, Lott IMPACT), defensive back Renardo Green (Thorpe), punter Alex Mastromanno (Guy) and kicker Ryan Fitzgerald (Groza).
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Travis is the player responsible for the most touchdowns in FSU history with 97 over his storied career. Many consider him a heavy contender for the Heisman Trophy. UNA has faced just one other Heisman contender in program history, BYU's Zach Wilson in 2020. Wilson finished eighth in the Heisman voting that season.
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FSU is led by Mike Norvell, who is 28-16 over four seasons at Florida State and 66-31 over eight seasons as a head coach overall. Norvell is 22-5 in November as a head coach, including 10-3 at home.
SERIES HISTORY
- Saturday will be the first all-time meeting between UNA and Florida State.
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Though the two have never played, multiple connections exist between the two schools.
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In 1949, UNA's first season after restarting the program for good, the Lions won its first game against Howard College — now Samford. Former legendary Florida State head coach Bobby Bowden was on Howard College's team when UNA — then Florence State Teacher's College — won this landmark game.
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Another existing connection between UNA and Florida State is former UNA head coach Mickey Andrews. Andrews won 18 games as the head coach at UNA from 1973-76. In 1984, Andrews joined Bobby Bowden's staff at Florida State as the defensive coordinator and held this position for 26 seasons. He and Bowden both retired after the 2009 season.
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The Bowden connection to UNA continued in 2009 when Terry Bowden became the head coach. Over three seasons at UNA, Bowden had a 29-9 record. His brother, Jeff Bowden, was also on the staff.
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Though this will be UNA's first meeting with Florida State, it will not be the first for UNA head coach Brent Dearmon. In 2013, Dearmon was an analyst at Auburn under Coach Gus Malzahn. Auburn and FSU competed for the BCS National Championship that season. In fact, the 2013 team will be honored by FSU during this weekend's game.
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On the other sideline stands FSU head coach Mike Norvell, who played at Central Arkansas from 2001-05. His final collegiate game came against none other than North Alabama, who eliminated UCA from the Division II quarterfinals in overtime on a walk-off field goal from Lion Legend Yuta Fukuda. Norvell and UCA had beaten UNA earlier that season in double overtime.
For more information on North Alabama Athletics, visit www.roarlions.com and follow UNA Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
